Category: Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Far too often, people are dissatisfied with their attorneys. Complaints are often that the lawyer does not return phone calls, does not pursue the claim aggressively, or settles to easily. At The Ben Law Firm, we have fought for and recovered millions of dollars in financial compensation for our clients.

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Insurance companies thrive on inexperienced lawyers! Hire The Ben Law Firm, and we will put the ball back in your court. We have decades of experience negotiating with Insurance Companies and recovering maximum financial compensation for our clients!

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Fort Lauderdale injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims.

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

Have you gotten into a car accident in or with an UBER? Every time you hop into an UBER, you are not simply getting onto the road, you are engaging in a commercial activity. This can raise significant legal issues if you are involved in a car accident. UBER has been in the news in South Florida a Broward County, as questions about insurance coverage have emerged. In situations such as this, experience matters. Insurance issues such as Uninsured Motorist Coverage, Commercial Insurance, and unlicensed commercial activity may be crucial for obtaining a monetary recovery.

Have you been in a car accident with an UBER?

If you have been in a car accident in Fort Lauderdale, or anywhere in South Florida, call The Ben Law Firm. Our Law Firm has handled legal claims against UBER and UBER drivers. If you want the best results for your legal claim against UBER, it is important to contact a lawyer at The Ben Law Firm immediately.

With all of the news about UBER recently, it is important to hire the experts!

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Fort Lauderdale injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims.

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

The Florida Supreme Court in Chase v. Horace Mann Ins. Co., 158 So.3d 514 (Fla. 2015), recently required automobile insurance companies to obtain a signed rejection from each person who is newly listed as a named insured under a policy of uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured/Undersinsured Motorist Coverage, frequently referred to as UM/UIM coverage applies in the event an insured is injured by a motorist who does not have liability coverage, or who who does not have a sufficient amount of liability coverage, to compensate the named insured for the damages sustained. UM/UIM coverage is particularly important in South Florida where a significant portion of the drivers on the road fail to purchase any liability coverage and therefore makes it difficult, if not impossible, to recover from them in the event they are responsible for an accident involving injuries.

Because UM/UIM is considered to be important coverage for Florida drivers, our legislature has mandated that when an insurance carrier initially sells a policy of automobile insurance coverage, it must notify the insured that he has the right to purchase, as an additional option, UM/UIM coverage from the carrier. If the insured elects not to purchase this coverage, a written rejection must be signed. In the event that the carrier fails to obtain this signed rejection, then the carrier will be responsible for UM/UIM coverage even if the insured fails to purchase this coverage.

In this case the insured was not originally named on the policy. Later, the policy was reissued with her as named insured, but a signed rejection was never signed from this person. Following a horrible accident, the insurance company, Horace Mann Ins. Co., denied UM/UIM coverage and a lawsuit ensured. The case was appealed up to the Florida Supreme Court which ruled that because the policy was reissued with an additional named insured, a signed rejection had to be obtained from that person. Since none was obtained, the court found that there was UM/UIM coverage for that person.

One of the lessons to be learned from this case for persons purchasing automobile insurance is that they need to understand what types of insurance coverage they are purchasing from their agent and what they are signing. Florida law only requires that the owner of a car purchase only PIP coverage and property damage. This bare minimum is frequently referred by agents as “full coverage.” In reality this anything but.

Every purchaser of automobile insurance needs to carefully consider purchasing UM/UIM coverage because this may be their only insurance coverage for their injuries in the event that they are involved in an accident. They also should make sure they understand what forms they are signing when an insurance agent hands a paper to them and tells them to sign it — particularly when it is a UM rejection form.

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, personal injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims.

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

According to a recent survey published inInsuranceQuotes.com, South Florida is the third most expensive place in the country to purchase insurance for your car. Congratulations to Detroit for taking the top spot.

The Insurance Information Institute says South Florida’s high rates are most likely a direct result of accident and theft statistics, particularly for expensive automobiles. Florida also has the second highest rate of uninsured motorists in the United States and this helps to drive up the insurance rates.

Miami-Dade County (with a population of 2.5 million) had the highest accident rate in the Florida, with a three-year average of more than 46,000 vehicle crashes between 2010 and 2013, an increase of more than 20 percent over that three-year period.

By comparison, Broward County (the second most populous county in Florida with a population of 1.8 million) had 19,000 fewer crashes, on average, over the same time frame.

This news should come as no surprise to anyone who owns a car in South Florida. Of course the Insurance Institute never blames the insurance industry (its sponsor) for the ridiculous insurance prices we pay.

Finally, once again, this survey indicates the importance of uninsured motorist coverage (UM), particularly if you live in Fort Lauderdale or Miami. Without UM you are bare — the odds are high that the motorist who collides with you will not have any insurance available.

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, personal injury lawyers atThe Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims.

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

A Lauderdale Lakes man, Romial Romeus, 37, whose negligence caused a deadly automobile accident that killed four members of the same family lost his drivers’ license and must pay $4,000 according to a Broward judge.

Romial Romeus was issued a ticket for careless driving by the Florida Highway Patrol for the deadly the crash that occurred on January 2nd of this year. An important distinction to bear in mind is that this was merely a civil traffic infraction and not a criminal trial because the Florida Highway Patrol was unable to prove that Mr. Romeus acted with the requisite criminal intent as opposed to simply being a careless driver. The end result was that the penalties involved were far less than would have involved if Mr. Romeus had been charged with a crime.

Mr. Romeus negligently struck the family’s SUV while driving sourthbound on I-95 in Deerfield Beach causing the SUV to end up in a lake next to the roadway. This incident was not Mr. Romeus’ first ticket, he had several others including one for driving without his lights on.

This tragic automobile accident underscores just how dangerous South Florida’s roadways can be, no matter how carefully you drive. One thing you can do to protect yourself and your family is to purchase uninsured motorist coverage from your insurance company. In the event that you do get in an automobile accident and the at-fault driver does not have any insurance or not enough, this coverage will apply to provide you with a recovery for your damages.

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, personal injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

A four-car crash killed a 53 year old man on a motorcycle and injured six other people, including three children at I-95 northbound of Sample Road in Fort Lauderdale.
The chain collision occurred when four vehicles were traveling in the southbound lanes of I-95 just before 11:30 p.m.

A Volkswagen Jetta carrying four people including the three children slowed for a crash and was rear-ended by a Chevrolet van. As a result of this impact, the Jetta spun around and ended up facing north in the southbound lanes when it was struck by a Ford F-150 pick up truck which had veered to the right. The motorcycle then collided with the truck.

The driver of the pickup truck, the occupants of the Jetta, including all of the children, were taken to North Broward Medical Center with injuries. Everybody was wearing seat belts and the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.

This serious accident illustrates that in some situations you just have to be lucky. Although it appears that all of the people in the cars were wearing their seat belts, they still suffered injuries, some serious. More tragically, the man on the motorcycle was wearing his helmet yet still lost his life.

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Hollywood, Florida, personal injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

As you may know, Google has been experimenting with cars that can actually drive themselves without human assistance using Google’s map applications along with other hardware like video cameras, lasers and radar to have a driverless car. One of Google’s self-driving cars was involved in a rear-end collusion in California. As expected, critics are now questioning the safety of these vehicles.

Google asserts that at the of this accident, the car was not driving itself but was, in fact, operated by one of its employees. “Safety is our top priority. One of our goals is to prevent fender-benders like this one, which occurred while a person was manually driving the car,” said a Google spokesperson, noting that its self-driving cars have traveled more than 160,000 miles autonomously without incident.

This minor accident brings into focus the question of when will computer technology be sufficient to replace the judgment exercised by humans beings when they drive. Now, we have GPS’s which guide us to our destination, cruise control and active warning systems to alert us when somebody is in our blind spot. While the technology to replace human drivers is not yet here, it is not inconceivable that this will be coming in the not to distant future.

Nevada will become the first state in the nation to pass legislation legalizing driverless vehicles after considerable lobbying by Google. Nevada’s DMV is working on a series of regulations regarding self-driving cars, including requirements for insurance.

Certainly self-driving cars present the promise of reducing accidents from human error but until that day occurs, we will all be surrounded on the road by human drivers using their cell phones, blasting their radios, and distracted by all sorts of outside stimulii. Accidents due to driver negligence will occur and many of these drivers will not have liability insurance.

While the Bible tells us to err is human and to forgive is divine, we should all think about what happens if we or a loved one are seriously injured through the negligence of a driver who has not purchased insurance. The only way to protect you and your family from the financial consequences of this scenario, is to purchase uninsured motorist (UM) coverage from your insurance company. UM is not required by the State of Florida and is typically not included in your insurance policy when your agent sells you “full coverage.” You need to specifically ask your insurance agent for UM coverage when you purchase insurance or you will probably be out of luck if you get hit by an uninsured human driver.

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Hollywood, Florida, personal injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

Miami-Dade County. Several riders on motorcylces were injured in a serious accident involved a tractor trailer in Krome Avenue in southwest Miami-Dade. This road has been closed to traffic.

In addition to the motorcyclists, a tractor trailer was jack-knifed and rolled over. A helicopter flew both of the injured people to the hospital.

This accident is being invested by the Florida Highway Patrol which has not said if anyone else was injured in the accident which remains under investigation.

This case is just another reminder of how quickly an enjoyable day of riding your motorcycle can turn into a nightmare. Everyone who owns a motorcycle needs to seriously consider purchasing uninsured motorist coverage with their bike. Although it appears that the tractor trailer would be covered by bodily injury insurance, in many of these accidents there is not enough bodily injury insurance to cover the riders’ damages. This is where uninsured motorist coverage is essential to provide insurance coverage when the at-fault party does not have enough insurance to cover your injuries.

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.

The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports that a landlord arguing with the father of one his tenants was chased down by the irate father in his car and run over. The incident was captured on an outdoor surveillance camera.

Police said the driver threatened the victim and stated: “I am going to get you, mother f—–!” The victim can be seen on the videotape running for his life, falling near the sidewalk before being run over by the Ford Taurus, which stopped on top of him.

The man remained trapped under the car until officers arrived to rescue him. Police had to ask bystanders to help lift up the 1992 Ford Tauras to free the man. Fortunately, in addition to the police, a weightlifter was available to help pull the man out from under the car. The man survived the impact and paramedics took him to the emergency room at Broward General Hospital.

The driver was criminally charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault for getting into fights outside the car. The video shows the driver fleeing the scene and then fighting with one bystander, later entering the a grocery store where he punched a 24-year-old woman.

Because of the obvious intentional nature of this incident, even if the driver here had purchased liability insurance on his car, any claim would probably be denied by his insurance company. Most liability policies have an “intentional acts” exclusion which states the policy will not pay for damages caused by a driver who deliberately tries to injure someone while operating his car. The driver can still be sued for battery (an unlawful touching) and even for negligence under the theory that somehow the impact wsa just an “accident,” but it will be very difficult to get paid under the driver’s policy. If the landlord owned his own car and had purchased uninsured motorist coverage, he might be able to recover for his damages under that policy. Although these types of cases are very unusual, this illustrates the importance of purchasing uninusured motorist coverage for you and your family.

With over 50 years of collective service to the South Florida community, the Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers at The Ben Law Firm have helped thousands of clients to obtain money compensation for their personal injury and wrongful death claims.

All of the firm’s partners have received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is a recognition by their peers in the legal community that their practice meets the highest professional and ethical standards.